HERITAGE 2020 CENTRAL STATES SALE SELECTIONS

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V23 2020 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 23, Number 12, March 22, 2020, Article 24

The upcoming Heritage sale has been moved as a result of the 2020 Central States show cancellation. But even those who can't travel can view and bid from afar. Here are a few lots that caught my eye. -Editor

This item is currently being reviewed by our catalogers and photographers. A written description will be available along with high resolution images soon.

The lot description for this piece is still being drafted. Stay tuned. That's part of the fun of an upcoming sale. With items being made public while still under evaluation, the public has a chance to see and comment on the material, enabling the catalogers to catch things they might otherwise miss. -Editor

The 1811 Classic Head Half Cent
According to Mint records, only 63,140 Classic Head half cents were struck in 1811, a small mintage for this series, which had seen a production of more than 1 million pieces just two years before. The coins were all delivered on July 9, and no more half cents were produced until 1825. In American Half Cents, the "Little Half Sisters", Roger Cohen speculates the small mintage in 1811 and the long gap in production might be attributed to a shortage of planchets. Apparently, the Mint's supply of half cent blanks ran out in 1811 and it was difficult to resupply in following years, due to the economic and political fallout of the War of 1812.

Two die varieties that share a common reverse are known for the date. This coin represents the C-1, B-1 variety, with a Wide Date that shows the numerals 1 and 8 widely separated and the E in LIBERTY repunched over a smaller E. Although the Classic Head half cents did not circulate as extensively as their earlier Draped Bust counterparts, most examples of the 1811 C-1 are well-worn and Ronald Manley notes the variety is seldom seen in grades above the Fine level. The 1811 C-1 is more elusive than the C-2 variety and Bill Eckberg (2019) estimates the surviving population at 150 examples in all grades.

The 1811 was a collector favorite from the earliest days of the hobby and by the late 1850s, when coin collecting first became widespread in this country, the issue was already known as a sought-after rarity. In his American Numismatical Manual (1859), Montroville W. Dickeson described the 1811 as "rare and valuable, as they are to be found in few cabinets." Examples began appearing at auction as early as lot 106 of the A.C. Kline Sale (Moses Thomas & Sons, 6/1855). The lot realized $.75, a strong price at the time. The present coin established the current prices realized record for this issue when it sold for a remarkable $1,121,250 in the Missouri Cabinet in January 2014.

1858 $10 PR64 Ultra Cameo NGC. CAC. JD-1, High R.7. Ex: Trompeter. The Philadelphia Mint began its program of commercial proof coin offerings in 1858. Mintage figures for proofs were not recorded that year, but experts agree no more than four to six proof Liberty eagles were produced. Most of the coins we know about today were issued as part of six-piece gold proof sets, but it is possible that a few examples were sold singly, as well. Only four examples have been reliably reported, and we believe three of those coins are included in institutional collections at the Smithsonian Institution, the American Numismatic Society, and the Connecticut State Library (see roster below). The magnificent coin offered here is the only example available to collectors, making this lot an extremely important opportunity for series specialists and Registry Set enthusiasts.

The Present Coin
We can trace the history of the present coin all the way back to the Mint in 1858. Prominent Massachusetts collector George Seavey purchased it as part of a complete gold, silver, and minor proof set that year. Seavey updated his remarkable collection in this fashion every year until he sold his numismatic holdings to millionaire Boston collector Lorin G. Parmelee in 1873. Parmelee retained the proof set intact until he sold his collection in 1890. The gold proof set was dispersed in the Parmelee sale, with the eagle, half eagle, and quarter eagle going to gold and pattern specialist William H. Woodin, who later became Secretary of the Treasury, under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Super collector Virgil Brand acquired this coin at the 1911 sale of Woodin's collection, with Lyman Low acting as his agent. Brand retained this piece until his death in 1926 and it eventually passed to his brother Armin, who sold it to Wayte Raymond in 1935. It next appeared in F.C.C. Boyd's World's Greatest Collection and then in the fabulous collection of Dr. Charles W. Green. Fort Worth coin dealer B. Max Mehl cataloged Green's Collection and described this piece in a two-page lot description, which we quote in part below:

"Perfect brilliant proof! By far the rarest of all U.S. $10.00 Gold Pieces and one of the rarest of all U.S. Gold Coins ... the specimen here offered is the only brilliant proof specimen available for purchase ... This great coin in its magnificent condition, is in point of actual rarity, almost on a par with the 1822 Half Eagle ... Its addition to a collection of U.S. Gold Coins would have the same effect as the addition of an 1804 Silver Dollar to a Silver Collection. It would greatly enhance the interest and value of the balance of the collection."

Amon Carter, Sr. purchased the coin at the auction, and it remained in the Carter Family Collection until that spectacular numismatic gathering was sold in January of 1984. This coin realized $121,000 at the Carter sale, a remarkable price for any coin at the time, to David Akers, acting as agent for proof gold specialist Ed Trompeter. It has not been publicly offered since. The owner of the Duquesne Collection purchased this coin privately via Heritage Auctions, along with many other coins from the Trompeter Estate, in 1998.

To read the complete lot description, see:
1858 $10 PR64 Ultra Cameo NGC. CAC. JD-1, High R.7. (https://coins.ha.com/itm/liberty-eagles/eagles/1858-10-pr64-ultra-cameo-ngc-cac-jd-1-high-r7-pcgs-98794-/p/1314-225001.s)

1872 $1 Dollar, Judd-1210, Pollock-1350, High R.7, PR66? Red and Brown Cameo NGC. The regular Seated Liberty With Motto design, the motto boldly doubled as seen on regular issue proofs dated 1872 and 1873. Struck in copper with a reeded edge. The 1872 copper dollars from the regular dies were not trial pieces as often recorded, but instead were part of off-metal coinage sets that the Mint marketed to contemporary collectors. The off-metal pattern sets were coined in both copper and aluminum (Judd-1211). It is doubtful that many sets were actually purchased by collectors, as only two examples of the copper dollar are known today.

To read the complete lot description, see:
1872 $1 Dollar, Judd-1210, Pollock-1350, High R.7, PR66 (https://coins.ha.com/itm/patterns/1872-1-dollar-judd-1210-pollock-1350-high-r7-pr66-s-red-and-brown-cameo-ngc/p/1314-220003.s)